What To Be Thankful For
by CandC1988
Summary: On a Thanksgiving day in the future, two Degrassi students meet up and have a little conversation.


Disclaimer: I do not own Degrassi or any of its characters.

Author's Note; This is a one-shot fic that I just thought of a few seconds ago. I'm sorry if it is not very good, but this is the first Degrassi fic I have ever written. This takes place about three years since when season five left off.

What To Be Thankful For

She walked up to the lone figure sitting on the bench and quietly said to the boy, "Hey."

The boy looked up at her and smiled a wavering smile, "Hey Paige."

"What are you doing by yourself on Thanksgiving JT?" she asked as she sat down on the bench beside him.

"Well," the boy began bitterly, "I was over at Em and Sean's house to celebrate Thanksgiving with the old gang when Manny came running in. She said she had some really exciting news. Turned out her news was that she was engaged to ….,"

"Spinner," Paige finished his sentence for him with a silent whisper.

"So, he really did dump you for her, huh?" JT shook his head.

"He came to pick me up from Banting today to go eat Thanksgiving dinner with my family and just told me on the way. He said that it just sort of happened, and he didn't know why it did," Paige shook her head, silent tears streaming down the girl's face.

"And he just dumped you off at the park?" JT asked, a tone of horror filling his voice. Spinner and himself had never gotten along, especially the time when he had been dating Paige and then Manny.

"No," she laughed, grievously, "I told him to drop me off and I'd find my own way back to my house. It's only a couple of miles from here. I just couldn't stand being in the same car as that cheating back-stabbing good for nothing loser anymore than I had to."

"Man," JT complained, more to himself than the pretty blonde sitting next to him, "why did those two have to go and get engaged?"

"Because Spin is an idiot," Paige harshly answered, yet JT could still sense a tender moment in her voice when speaking Spinner's name, "I should have known he was going to do that to me again. Maybe I'm just going to wind up in a dating cycle from now on … boy getting too close to Manny … student teacher … girl. And just repeat the cycle."

"You know what the worst part of this is?" JT asked after a few moments of comfortable silence passed between the two. JT didn't know where he was going with that one. It wasn't even like he had been dating Manny, Paige definitely had the worst deal, and she was going to be listening to him complain?

"What?" she asked, through glistening tears.

"I don't know what to be thankful for this year," JT bluntly said, "My grandma passed away earlier this year, I've been slipping behind in my college work, Liberty is married to some other guy and has another child on the way. And she's keeping this one. And now Manny is engaged. Its like every girl I've ever cared about has moved on. Every girl I ever saw myself with."

"That sucks," Paige put plainly, "but JT, Liberty and Manny aren't the only two girls out there for you. You're really funny, really sweet, and really adorable, so you deserve the best, and trust me hon neither of those girls is the best."

"Thanks Paige," he smiled at her, "so, now its your turn to confess."

"What?" she asked, a doubtful tone filling her voice.

"Well, I want to know what you consider to be the worst part of this whole Spinner/Manny engagement," JT boldly said. Paige looked at him like he was scum for approximately five seconds before speaking.

"Honestly? The look on my mother's face when she realizes that I didn't bring anyone home with me," Paige shook her head, "She didn't know that Spinner and I were back together, so I thought it might be a nice surprise, and told her I was bringing a guest. But … but now she's going to pull me aside and ask me when I'm going to meet a worthwhile man and point out to me that Dylan has already found a good one. I think that's why I tried so hard for my relationship with Spinner to work. Dylan and Marco were high school sweethearts, so I guess I thought if they could make it work so well, then maybe Spin and I could."

"I'll go with you," JT offered.

"Go with me where?" Paige asked, a look of confusion crossing her face.

"To Thanksgiving dinner," JT supplied, "I don't want to go back to Sean and Emma's house now that I know Spinner and Manny are going to be there together. And you didn't tell your mom who you were bringing with you, so I would be a surprise. Also, if I recall you and I did have that one date, so maybe that could count as a high school sweetheart."

"I was such a jerk to you," Paige groaned, putting her face in her hands.

"But, if I do recall," JT teased, "I did get a kiss out of the date."

"True," Paige grinned at him, "but it definitely was not worth it for you."

Without another word, Paige leaned over and gave him a quick kiss on the lips. When he looked at her questioningly she just smiled at him.

"That's to make up for the kiss then," Paige said sweetly, "now come on, we have a Thanksgiving dinner to attend."

The two stood up from the bench and started walking towards JT's car. All of a sudden, JT burst into laughter.

"Can you imagine the look on Marco and Dylan's faces when we walk into your house together?" he asked, in between laughs.

"They are going to be so confused," Paige also laughed with him.

"You know what?" JT asked, but before Paige could say anything he continued, "I think I do have something to be thankful for this Thanksgiving. I get to spend it with you."

He grabbed her hand and gave it a squeeze and the two walked the rest of the way back to the car with hands intertwined.


End file.
